Zaiput devices exploit membranes and contain an innovative on-board pressure control system to ensure that proper operating conditions for successful separation are always met. The presence of the on-board pressure controller practically decouples the operation of the separator from downstream operations, making the separator a truly modular, plug-and-play unit.

Our separators are rated for high pressure use allowing in-line separation in pressurized flow systems. Finally, our devices have a broad chemical compatibility, easy maintenance and come at an affordable price.

Important features:

Plug-and-play

Zaiput separators incorporate on-board pressure control so that the separation performance is decoupled from any adjacent processing steps.

Applicable for systems with negligible density differences

The operating principle behind the technology is based on a liquid’s wettable nature, so it works with any liquid-liquid system regardless of their density difference.

Resolve your emulsion problems

Instead of using agitation to form microdroplets, we improve mixing by using a flow pattern that has large surface area, thus avoiding emulsions that generally cause separation issues.

Minimal dead volume

Our device eliminates the need for moving or coalescing parts, so it has a drastically reduced dead volume.

Excellent chemical compatibility

Machined in materials with excellent chemical resistance, Zaiput SEPs work with a wide range of organic solvents, in acidic and basic solutions. Please contact our technical support team with questions relating to chemical compatibility.

Allows operation under pressure

The metal shell design allows Zaiput SEPs to be used inline with a pressurized process (up to 300 psi/ 2 MPa).

Easy and direct scale-up

Our device is well-characterized and directly scalable from lab to pilot to production.

Let’s see it live!

For further explanation see the image below. The membrane can be wetted by the organic (pink) phase.

Membrane-based separation relies on accurately controlling the pressure on each side of the membrane so that an incoming wetting phase can flow through the membrane pores while the non-wetting phase is retained.

Well, that sounds like an easy operation…

so what makes it challenging to implement?

Yes, that’s correct: membrane separation is relatively easy. However, there is one challenge that users have experienced in the past, which is the pressure difference across the membrane. In other words, we need to control the difference between P1 and P2 to ensure successful separation. Otherwise, if the difference is too high, we will start to see the non-wetting phase in the lower channel. If the pressure difference is too small, then we will start to see the wetting phase in the upper channel.

And that’s what makes Zaiput SEP unique!

In the past, this cumbersome pressure control required users to monitor P1 and P2 independently and carefully. This is especially true when the user operates the membrane separation in combination with other operation units, such as reactors, pumps, etc.

Zaiput Flow Technologies developed and patented a technology which negates all of the need for the pressure control. We integrated a self-tuning element, like the one in the picture below, such that the tedious adjustment of the pressures is no longer needed.

We currently offer three different versions of Zaiput SEP.

Product

Image

Total Flow Rate (ml/min)

Wetted Parts

Max Operating Pressure (MPa)

Dead Volume

Dimensions (mm)

SEP-10

0-12

Perfluorinated polymers

2

400μl

77 x 71 x 29

SEP-200-SS

20-200

Stainless Steel 316, Perfluorinated polymers

2

30ml

206 x 196 x 26

SEP-200-HS

Hastelloy C276, Perfluorinated polymers

SEP-3000

200-3000

Check back for updates on the release date of this product.

Representative applications:

Examples of liquid-liquid separations that are applicable to Zaiput SEP are shown below. Note that the applications are not limited to this representative list.

Performance under pressure disturbance:

Zaiput SEP is designed to handle pressure disturbances in the system so that the separation of the liquid multiphase can be achieved without any manual control. To demonstrate this ability, we carried out the following experiments:

Here, we feed the separator with two immiscible liquids (water-hexane, water-ethyl acetate). The separator has a hydrophobic membrane inside. We simulated downstream operations or disturbances by setting a value of back pressure on the outlet of the organic stream. For successful complete separation, water should exit on one side, while the organic exits on the other side. That being said, there are two modes of incomplete separation:

(1) Retention of organic in the aqueous phase

(2) Breakthrough of water through the membrane with the organic phase
The results of experiments with either water-hexane or water-ethyl acetate are shown here (where R represents % of retention and B the % of breakthrough):

The results show that a simple separation (hexane/water, interfacial tension 50 mN/m) runs with complete separation at all of the tested total flow rates, with different ratios of flow rates, and at different levels of disturbances created in the system (with increasing back pressure on the organic side).

The separator has excellent performance also when challenged with a pair of liquids with very low interfacial tension (ethyl acetate/water, interfacial tension 6.8 mN/m). Under these conditions, the separator provided complete separation at different total flow rates and with different ratios of flow rates but tolerated fewer disturbances to achieve complete separation in a single step.

The Zaiput liquid-liquid separator can be used for a wide range of applications. Below are a few examples:

Liquid-liquid extraction is one of the primary purification methods, providing high selectivity and low energy consumption. Zaiput's technology provides the ability to perform the extraction in continuous flow with a simple plug-and-play device. It can be used in conjunction with different chemistries, with applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to polymer synthesis. Alternatively, it can be a standalone unit operating in any laboratory or industrial process.

Solvent switching is a common step in multistep synthesis. In general, it is done manually and in a batchwise process that is slow and tedious. Alternatively, Zaiput’s liquid-liquid separator can be inserted between two reactions by simply connecting the streams.

A biphasic homogeneous-catalyzed reaction refers to catalysis that takes place at the interface between the two immiscible phases. Despite its high selectivity, it is difficult to operate at a large scale because it requires highly active mixing to keep the two liquids in contact. Even at small scale, homogeneous catalysis is rarely used because it poses problems with catalyst recovery via phase separation. Zaiput’s separator offers an easy and flexible way to separate the two phases and recover the catalyst.

Flow synthesis becomes very useful for handling hazardous intermediates. This is because the compounds can be consumed directly into another flow synthesis without isolation. A recent example (e.g., Lehman, Dec 2016) includes the safe and scalable preparation of diazomethane, which involves the generation of a N-methyl-N-nitrosourea intermediate. At the end of diazomethane synthesis, Zaiput’s SEP is used to separate the desired product and waste. Alternatively, Zaiput’s SEP can be used for inline extraction of the hazardous intermediate in order to avoid a potentially unsafe off-line/batch-wise workup (e.g., Cantillo D et al, 2016).

Ordering information

Current separators available are SEP-10, SEP-200-SS, and SEP-200-HS. Please check their specifications for suitable applications. For information on pricing and availability, please contact us or fill in the form below.

Request a quote:

Your name (required) *

Your e-mail address (required) *

You are interested in the following products: *

SEP-10

SEP-200-SS *Leasing option available

SEP-200-HS *Leasing option available

Other information:

Where did you first learn about our products?

If your application requires different specifications than those of our current products, please contact us for a custom solution.